People walk through a new gallery, Mathematics: The Winton Gallery, inside the Science Museum during a press view in London on December 7, 2016 London’s Science Museum called upon the genius of late architect Zaha Hadid for the “huge challenge” of bringing life to its new gallery dedicated to mathematics, which opens on Thursday. The…
In 1818, the Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh sent a letter to all British consuls across the world, asking them to obtain examples of their local standard weights. At that time the UK had no universal conversion table between the many different systems of weights and measures used by foreign cities. It took two years for…
Tony Blair wanted to be remembered for his education reforms, and the latest results from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment – Pisa – the triennial survey of the skills of 15-year-olds suggest that if only he had concentrated on his domestic agenda, he probably would have been. The Pisa scores are notorious for…
A new article explains how game theory and algorithms are being used to optimize security and patrol schedules to prevent terrorist attacks. In the Significance article, Dr. Thanh Nguyen notes that defenders must perpetually defend numerous targets using a limited number of resources, whereas attackers are able to surveil and learn defenders’ strategies and attack…
A new article explains how game theory and algorithms are being used to optimize security and patrol schedules to prevent terrorist attacks. In the Significance article, Dr. Thanh Nguyen notes that defenders must perpetually defend numerous targets using a limited number of resources, whereas attackers are able to surveil and learn defenders’ strategies and attack…
The government’s ambition to make Britain’s schools among the best in the world in teaching core subjects by 2020 appears to have been foiled, after international comparisons published on Tuesday showed few signs of improvement. The OECD’s programme for international student assessment (Pisa) found a little-changed performance in reading, maths and science among 15- and…
Canada’s caribou population has reached “all-time low” levels, particularly in the eastern Arctic, where the animal was classified as endangered Monday along with the monarch butterfly, according to a committee of scientific experts.
A controversial India-backed Aus$21.7 billion giant coal project near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is set to start construction by the middle of 2017 A controversial India-backed Aus$21.7 billion (US$16 billion) giant coal project near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is set to start construction by the middle of next year, the miner said Tuesday. Adani Enterprises’…
EU and US consumer watchdogs announced Tuesday they are filing complaints against a clutch of smart toys that can “spy” on children and their homes, for allegedly breaching privacy and data protection laws. The complaints target smart toys My Friend Cayla, i-QUE Intelligent Robot and Hello Barbie, according to the European Consumer Organisation BEUC and…
Dan Nanamkin, of the Colville Nez Perce Native American tribe in Nespelem, Wash., right, drums with a procession through the Oceti Sakowin camp after it was announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers won’t grant easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D., Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman) The…